The History of Alexander (Penguin Classics)

337 pages. "From the Middle Ages until the present day, this version of a great king and conqueror's story, The History of Alexander by Quintus Curtius Rufus, has evoked from its readers a mixture of admiration and contempt. Some modern authorities have disparaged it as too inventive and lacking in historical principle, but it is, nevertheless, a fascinating and absorbing document. The large number of extant manuscripts, some dating from the ninth century A.D., is proof of its popularity -- and it is reported that Alfonso V of Aragon was cured of chronic illness by reading the work. Of the author himself, little is known, but his identity and date have been the subject of a continuing controversy. Probably he belonged to the early Roman Empire, and rose from obscurity under Augustus to proconsular rank around A.D. 50. His work presents a complex Alexander whose accomplishments, though far surpassing those of ordinary people, were marred by his all too human weaknesses. The cover shows a detail from 'The Family of Darius before Alexander' by Paolo Veronese, in the National Gallery, London."